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Canada got the last hurrah at the Celebration of Light Saturday evening, closing the three-night event with a winning display. Canada was declared the winner of the event, with Brazil and China finishing second and third, respectively.

But Justice Geoff Barrow also agreed with Liquid Zoo owner David Habib who argued the three-day suspension was too severe

A B.C. Supreme Court judge has upheld a liquor branch ruling that a Kelowna nightclub violated its licence by allowing a patron wearing gang clothing inside. Police on a routine walk through of the Liquid Zoo club saw a man associated to the Kingpin Crew, wearing a cap with the gang's insignia on it.

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A B.C. Supreme Court judge has upheld a liquor branch ruling that a Kelowna nightclub violated its licence by allowing a patron wearing gang clothing inside.

But Justice Geoff Barrow also agreed with Liquid Zoo owner David Habib, who argued the three-day suspension he received for the violation was too severe.

Habib and the Liquid Zoo nightclub have a controversial history in the Okanagan city.

Habib, through his company Quail Place Estates Ltd., operated the nightclub before mid-2004, when he sold both the club and the building it’s in to a numbered company.

A Liquor Control Branch investigation then revealed that one of the new owners was Hells Angel Damiano Dipopolo.

“As a result, the branch refused to transfer the liquor licence and the sale had to be unwound,” Barrow said in his ruling released Monday.

Issues around the nightclub licence were finally resolved in late 2011 and Habib reopened Liquid Zoo on Jan. 9, 2012 with the special anti-gang condition in place.

Just three days later, police did a routine walk-through of the club and saw a man associated to the Kingpin Crew, wearing a cap with the gang’s insignia on it.

“They took the hat from the patron and gave it to Mr. Habib who was working in the bar that evening,” Barrow said.

“Several days later, the branch issued a notice of enforcement action arising from the incident.”

Habib claimed that he didn’t see the Kingpin Crew hat until police brought it to him that night.

And he also argued to both the liquor branch adjudicator and in B.C. Supreme Court that he believed only Hells Angels paraphernalia was banned under his liquor licence.

“Further, he said that while he had heard of the Kingpin Crew and knew they were a motorcycle group, he did not think they were a criminal gang,” Barrow summarized.

The judge rejected Habib’s claim that the adjudicator’s ruling was unreasonable.

And he said even if Habib hadn’t seen the hat, nightclub staff should have been required to do their due diligence.

“There was no evidence, for example, that his staff were instructed to periodically scan the patrons in the establishment for the presence of gang affiliated attire,” he said.

But Barrow agreed that Habib’s suspension was too severe for a first-time offence.

“In all these circumstances, it was unreasonable to impose the maximum penalty prescribed by the regulations,” Barrow said. “That issue is remitted to the adjudicator for reconsideration.”

A B.C. Supreme Court judge has upheld a liquor branch ruling that a Kelowna nightclub violated its licence by allowing a patron wearing gang clothing inside. Police on a routine walk through of the Liquid Zoo club saw a man associated to the Kingpin Crew, wearing a cap with the gang's insignia on it.